The latest talks between nurses at Worcester, Mass.-based Saint Vincent Hospital and the hospital's owner, Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, ended without a resolution regarding striking nurses returning to work in their previous roles, according to hospital and union statements.
Saint Vincent nurses have been striking since March 8.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association said nurses were prepared to agree to the hospital's last offer regarding staffing and believed they were close to a tentative agreement that would end the strike and allow nurses to re-enter the hospital.
However, no settlement was reached Aug. 19 after four days of talks with a federal mediator, as both sides could not agree on nurses' right to return to work to the same positions they were in before the strike, the union said.
"As is typical with all previous strikes, including the 2000 strike against Tenet Healthcare by MNA, the nurses sought to include a 'back to work' provision, which guarantees all nurses who went out on strike the right to return to work in the same position, hours and shift that they worked prior to the strike and provides a process the parties will follow in recalling the nurses," the union said in a news release. "The goal for the nurses in reaching the agreement was to end the rancor of the past months, and for both parties to begin the work of restoring stability to the facility to provide quality care to the patients at this critical time."
In a statement shared with Becker's, the hospital agreed with the union that it is time for the strike to end, but it said that circumstances with this walkout are different.
Shelly Weiss Friedberg, a hospital spokesperson, said strikers do return to previous positions in many strike situations, but that is typical in strikes that last "from a few days to a few weeks at most."
Citing the duration of the strike, Saint Vincent announced Aug. 8 that it had hired more than 100 permanent replacement nurses for some roles. "The hospital took these steps to protect critical services for Worcester and the surrounding community and to ensure the safety and availability of critical services without disruption," said Ms. Weiss Friedberg.
Nurses now working in the hospital include union members who crossed the picket line, as well as nurses Saint Vincent hired.
Ms. Weiss Friedberg said rather than remove some of these nurses, the hospital told the union it would guarantee that striking nurses who want to return to a job will have one available for them if they want it.
Saint Vincent estimated about 85 percent of striking nurses who return will get their exact job and shift back. For the rest, "we have committed to work with the MNA to try and resolve these situations once a return-to-work agreement is in place," said Ms. Weiss Friedberg.